


Sky Blue And Coffee Brown

by TheCrimsonStoryteller



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: Can this be qualified as a songfic because of Nevin?, Gen, I have 0 idea why I decided to have 2 povs, More will be added as it progresses, Past Character Death, Trans Eli Pepperjack
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:42:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26872345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCrimsonStoryteller/pseuds/TheCrimsonStoryteller
Summary: A girl who had been trapped all her life finally finds her way into the world.A boy who had finally gotten free and finally had a family is slowly losing his freedom.
Relationships: Barbara Lake/Walter Strickler | Stricklander, Jim Lake Jr./Claire Nuñez, more later - Relationship
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

The Janus Order was never a good place to be. Especially as a child. Maybe it was the loneliness. Maybe it was the lack of normal humans. Maybe it was the troll-prince always stalking the halls.

She couldn't remember much about her childhood, only that she had always been there. She could vaguely remember some things from before her training started. 

She remembered, but not enough.

However, she knew a lot. She knew that her name was Marceline, that she was 15, that she had Dyslexia and that her mother was part of the Janus Order but had died and now they had to keep her around for security reasons. She also knew for a fact that they wouldn't have kept her around if it wasn't for her mother, they made it clear each time.

There was that one time though, when she managed to get out though, when she was eight.

She could remember it clearly as day.

She could still hear the sound of her brand new rollerblades hitting the asphalt as she followed Nomura out, feel the unexpected joy as the changeling snuck her to the museum, the old pots and clothes and tapestries she saw around Nomura's workplace. It was a whole new world, that day.

_"Remember child, if we get caught, it's on you."_

_"I won't tell if you don't!"_

That didn't end well. They were still found out.

Then there was Strickler. He was complicated. It made her curious.

Unlike Nomura, never let her go outside, race though the building's halls with her skateboard or rollerblades or interact with the younger-looking changelings.

He did, however, stand up for her sometimes when the others were being pushy in her training, when they wanted her to use her to get what they wanted, and he gave her access to some of his books when he realized how much she loved reading despite her Dyslexia.

_"We can use her as one of our spies."_

_"No. She is much to young for that."_

"Go to school?!" She clapped her hands excitedly when she got the news, slinning in place a few times before looking up at the man again. "You're actually letting me go out!"

Strickler let out an exasperated sigh. "A decision has been made to let you go to the Arcadia Oaks public highschool." He informs her. "The new school year should start in a few days. Nomura also agreed to come with you for buying your needed school supplies."

"Thank you!" The teenager said gratefully, trying not to scream out of excitement again, her sky blue eyes gleamed with joy as she ran to the small and plain room she called hers.

"And Marceline."

"Yes?"

"The Order has to--"

"Stay as a secret? Doesn't take a genius to figure that one out."

* * *

Ever since he remembered, he could hear the music in everything.

There was one rule they always followed back at the Order. If you saw something you shouldn't have, then shhh, you saw nothing.

_Oh, keep your head keep your head low,  
Oh you gotta keep your head low,  
If you wanna keep your head hooked,  
Oh you gotta keep your head low_

Then suddenly he was switched out with a child. Suddenly he had a family, he had a twin, suddenly he almost felt free to be who he wanted to be.

_For the first time in forever,  
There'll be music, there'll be light_

Too bad they hadn't thought about replacing his twin with a changeling too.

Oh well, they were 5 back then anyways, it was almost too easy to make him keep quiet about it.

_You can tell my brother, that ain't big  
'Cause if he squeals on me, I'll squeal on him_

"No Danny, when you die you won't turn into the last animal you killed." He explained to the eight-year-old he was forced to call his brother for the thousandth time.

"But why are there so many spiders then?"

"Because when spiders reproduce, they can have hundreds of children."

Daniel bit his lip and shuddered. "Please tell me you're joking."

He eyed around their room, making sure no one was watching, before making his brown eyes glow bright yellow and reveal his changeling eyes. "I don't know, am I?"

"Neviiiiiiiin!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For plot reasons, I'm going to try keeping Nevin's pov not as much as I intended at first, but he'll still be around later on

It was like she was eight all over again.

The sound of her rollerblades hitting the asphalt, the voice if Nomura repeatedly telling her to slow down, the feelingof the breeze playing with her light brown hair.

Except this time, she was free.

She hadn't snuck out or bribed someone into letting her out, she was out free, without anything to worry about.

"Slow down before you get lost." Nomura called after her again, causing her to only go faster out of spite.

"I know my way!" She shouted back stubbornly, adding up her speed. "This town is small enough."

"Let's see if you'll say that when you get lost."

Shw pondered around her options for a few moments. She could either go faster, lose her way and have to stomp her pride and callthe changeling for help, or she could slow down and let her catch up.

The second one sounded like less trouble, anyways.

She slowly stopped moving her legs and slowing down to a regular pace next to the woman. 

"So where's our first stop?" She asked, stuffing her hands into her pockets.

"Our first, and only stop, is at the mall. We can get everything we want from there without having to look around much." She explained.

They were quick to get to their destination, through the streets of the town. Weirdly enough, there didn't seem to be many people outside at that time of day.

The mall though, was swarmed with people, mostly kids and teenagers that were also shopping for school supplies like the two of them. She felt a bit bummed since she had to take of her rollerblades and wear her normal shoes, which she had brought along herself in a plastic bag, so they would let her in.

"Are we gonna get a backpack first? Or pens and pencils? I know! Maybe we should start with buying notebo--"

"Clothes." Nomura cut her off.

"Wait what?!"

Nomura looked at her up and down with an exasperated sigh. "Believe it or not, you can't get through the school year wearing the same two or three pairs of hoodies and jeans."

They shoved their way through the tight crowd of people towards a few of the less crowded shops. They eventually came to an stop in front of a few of them.

"We have two options." Nomura stated matter-of-factly. "We can either go with that one," She gestured at the one with a lot of black clothes and things that were considered edgy. "Or that one." This time she gestured at an store with more colorful and bright clothing.

"Can't I just" She looked over at one of the stores with a lot more normal-looking attire. "Choose that one?"

Nomura tutted. "That one wouldn't let you make an statement. If you go with the dark and edgy one, no one will be surprised by your terrible music taste, but if you go for the bright and bubbly one, people would practically expect your excitement and happiness and won't immediately run away."

She backed away from the changeling a bit. "Now, since I know you haven't been in highschool since... forever ago, I'm just going to go with the normal one." Before Nomura could protest, the teenager had already made a beeline to the store and entered it. Having no choice, the changeling-turned-babysitter followed.

"How about this one?" She asked, holding up a pinkish-white hoodie with red designs and a pair of jeans with rose embroidery on the right thigh. "I think they'd go well together."

"What did I say about hoodies and jeans two minutes ago?" Nomura sighed in defeat, picking out some t-shirts and skirts that she thought she would like to wear later. "Fine. You can get those."

"And the trainers?"

She looked at her again, this time seeing her holding a pair of white trainers with rainbow wedges. She sighed. "Fine. You can get those too."

She bit her lip and started to tap her feet in excitement. "Thank you!"

She could vaguely hear the woman having a small conversation with the cashier.

"Who is that child with you, if you don't mind me asking. You don't exactly look alike."

"We're not related. She's the daughter of a friend."

Daughter of a friend. She snorted. Let's see how much they could keep that lie up for.


	3. Chapter 3

"Clothes, school supplies and necessities only, they said." Nomura sighed, looking down at the many many shopping bags she and Marceline were holding.

"Well? We got all the necessities!" She claimed in protest, skipping in the brand new trainers that she had refused to take off.

"Yes. Because an spider plushy and a whole bunch of bracelets with fake stones is totally necessary." The changeling drawled sarcastically.

"See? I knew you'd agree with me!" She nodded, completely missing the tone of her voice.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, occasionally stopping when Marceline found something new that interested her.

Nomura looked at the rising sun. "It's almost nighttime. We should go back."

"Can we go to the park?" She suggested instead. "I've always wanted to see what it's like!"

"Of course you do." Nomura shook her head. "Sure. We can go to the park. But only fifteen minutes, okay?"

Her eyes lit up, shining with childish excitement.

 _That shine hasn't faded yet_ , Nomura thought to herself, _Makes one wonder how long it would stay for._

"So what can we do here?" She asked, when they reached the park.

"We can go to the playground, but you're too young for that. Though I honestly doubt age-restrictions would stop you. Or we could just walk around." The changeling replied.

"...Are we--"

"We are _not_ going to the playground. Not today."

"Okay..."

As they made their way through the park, they soon reached an outdoors basketball court. It was an small one, with only one hoop, but it was all the park had.

She spotted a girl in a navy blue hoodie and jeans holding a ball in her hands. Her hair was covered by her hoodie and her back was facing them, so she couldn't exactly see her properly. She watched as the girl threw the ball, only for it to hit the sides and fall to the ground. The girl didn't seem to give up though, going after the ball and picking it up again every time.

Despite Nomura's seemingly protesting expression, she made her way into the basketball court and to the girl. "Hey!"

The girl dropped her ball out of shock, quickly picking it up. "H-hey!" She fidgeted awkwardly, almost dropping the ball again, before her voice became annoyed. "Who are you? No one ever comes here at this time."

"Oh! I- I'm Marceline! I'm new here." She said with a nervous smile. "And you are?"

The girl froze for a few moments before trying to walk away and exit from the second entrance of the court. "I'm no one."

"Well you can't be Noone. That makes you a ghost." She countered, following the girl. " _Are_ you a ghost?" She asked playfully, trying to reach out and touch her.

"Maybe." The mysterious girl chuckled. "Or maybe I'm a demon here to steal your soul."

"No, please don't!" She begged dramatically, causing them to both break out laughing.

The girl finally turned around to face her. She had black hair and an Asian complexion. "So you're new?" 

Instead of answering, she gawked at her for a few moments. "You look so pretty!" She said at last. 

"Me- I- Shit." The girl seemed to start freaking out. "No one can know I'm here. Don't tell anyone you saw me here, okay?"

"...Okay?" Her expression became thoughtful. "Under one circumstance."

_"What?"_

She snatched the ball from the girl in one quick movement. "You have to teach me how to play."

* * *

_Evelyn Evelyn,_   
_Why do we bother to stay_   
_Why are you running away_

He gave one last look to the bedroom window, where Danny was watching him carefully. His 'twin' looked so much smaller than his age, maybe even scared. He was like that every time Nevin went out on his business. He gave the boy a small wave. Danny hesitantly waved back, a shaky smile on his lips.

He strutted through the thick trees in the back of the house, soon far away from the place he called home.

_Oh, keep your head keep your head low_   
_Oh you gotta keep your head low_   
_If you wanna keep your head hooked_   
_Oh you gotta keep your head low_

The Gumm Gumm Prince was waiting for him there, his large figure towering over him.

He let his human disguise vanish, leaving him with pale orange skin, golden glowing eyes, red tufts of hair and tiny horns. "Hello, my Prince." He greeted formally.

"The Trollhunter." Bular growled. "How much information could you gather on him."

"I- Uh..." Nevin fumbled with his words. He had been too busy in the past few days with his family, with Danny's grandparents visiting and not letting him and the boy to be by themself long enough for him to sneak out. "...Couldn't?"

_How long? Just as long as Hades is King_   
_Nothing comes of wishing on stars_   
_And nothing comes of the songs people sing_   
_However sorry they are_

With a quick movement, he was picked off the ground by the large Gumm Gumm. His chest felt heavy as Bular clenched his fist around him. "It would be a shame if anything was to happen to them, wouldn't it?" He drawled.

Nevin started to kick and struggle to no awhale, until the Prince threw him to the ground himself.

"This is the last time. Forget about your job one more time and there will be consequences."

Danny didn't ask questions when his twin returned, with his clothes muddy and his black hair disheveled.


	4. Chapter 4

"Bye, Mary!" She waved her new friend goodbye. The girl had opened up a bit after an hour of playing basketball with her and introduced herself as Mary.

She skipped over to Nomura, who had long since given up trying to make her come home before sunset and was sitting on a bench with a book. The changeling looked up at her as she got near. "Are you finally done with that girl?"

She nodded as the woman got to her feet. "She said her name was Mary and gave me her phone number!" She announced.

"Ah, well." Nomura put her book back into her bag. "We should go back now. It's late and the others wouldn't be pleased when they find out you got to be out for so long."

She shuddered at the thought of that. She knew that most members of the Janus Order didn't like her much. She also knew that most of them didn't get to get outside often. And that, topped with the fact that she was the youngest person there, meant that she had to at least try to not get on anyone's bad side.

She quietly fell into step beside Nomura who kept texting something on her phone, probably making excuses about why they were late.

It was almost midnight when they finally entered the Order's base. The hallways were quiet, so were all the usually crowded rooms. Everyone must been sleep. She couldn't help but shiver as she entered, the usually neutral aura of the base now felt cold and suffocating after spending time outside for so long.

She broke off from Nomura, quickly turning in one of the hallways with her shopping bags and trying to make her way to what she called her room as fast as possible.

"Marceline." The voice caused her to freeze in her place. "You are late."

She turned around slowly, facing the tall man. "Hey Mr Stricklander." She squeaked out sheepishly. "I'm sorry?" She really was not, but she could at least pretend.

"What were you doing and why were you late." It wasn't a question, more like a demand for an answer. The changeling looked down at her with an slight frown and his stern gaze.

"We went shopping." She muttered, fidgeting with her hands. "I made a friend, I think? She thought me how to play basketball and I kind of... forgot that I had to be back before sunset." She had not forgotten, just didn't want to go back so soon.

Mr Stricklander's expression softened and he shook his head. "I suppose that makes sense. Have an snack and go to your room now."

She nodded, quickly running down the hall to her room and leaving the bags in her room. She then headed to the cafeteria, taking a chocolate bar from the snacks available and made her way back to her room again.

She slowly took out and sorted out her new belongings, taking a bite out of the chocolate bar in the process. She set the clothes in the drawer under her bed, the notebooks and bracelets on her small desk and her spider plushie was escorted to her bed.

She changed into a pair of army green leggings and a loose black t-shirt, sitting on her bed. It was the feeling again, when she knew that if she lied down she'd be fast asleep, but while sitting or standing she felt as energetic as ever.

 _A small walk around the base wouldn't hurt._ She thought. _Not if I'm careful enough and no one sees me._

With that thought, she slipped on a pair of socks and exited her room. The ground was cold and she shivered as her feet touched it with each step, the cold still freezing even with the socks on. Unlike when she had arrived half an hour prior, now most of the lights were off, swallowing the hallways and corridors in darkness.

If there was one thing she had learned from years of living in the Order, was that darkness was something she had to get used to. And she did. That didn't make her vary though, she knew what could be lurking in the dark, after all.

She was about halfway through the hallway when her foot hit something.

"Ow!"

Or rather, someone.

She took a few steps back, blinking and narrowing her eyes to see who she had hit. "Excuse me, I didn't mean to- Who are you?"

The changeling was very small, the size of a baby, with greenish skin and brown tusks of hair. Hideous, really, not that she was going ti say it.

"Can't you see where your going?" The changeling hissed lowly. 

"No. I'm a human. No night vision." She sighed, passing by him. One would think that after so many years of living there, the changelings would automatically remember that, but they either liked making her repeat that or they really had a bad memory.

The changeling snorted. "Oh yes, the precious little girl that shouldn't be messed with because she's just a human and she'll break." He mocked, following behind her.

She clutched her feasts tightly, trying to not let the anger take over. She turned and bent over, glaring. "Now, now, don't go too fast. Now that I'm going to go to school, I might as well meet new people and who knows, maybe one of them would be the sister of the child you're going to replace, Claire." She spat out. She hoped that was true, after all, details that she had randomly overheard could always change at the span of a second or two. "All I'll need to do is tell her all about you and your life might as well be over."

The changeling rolled his eyes and laughed, though there was a shred of doubt in his eyes. "Good luck with that, fleshbag. Who in their right mind would believe that anyways?"

She got up, making her way away from him. "I don't know. But I could always try that and see how it goes."

The hallway was quiet for a few moments, before he tackled her from behind, jumping onto her and around her neck. She could feel the changeling pulling at her hair and scratching her neck, but no matter how much she struggled, the changeling didn't seem to give up and let go.

The sound of large steps boomed through a hallway nearby, causing them both to freeze. As the footsteps started to advance near them, she quickly ran down the corridor and back to her room, the changeling still hanging around her neck.

She watched through the small crack of her door as the Gumm Gumm Prince stomped through the hallways and corridors. She quickly closed her door shut and plopped onto her bed. "Get out now." She ordered the changeling.

He shook his head and sat on her desk, seemingly shaken from the almost encounter. "I'm not leaving this room. Not tonight."

She didn't portest. "Fine. Just don't touch anything." She yawned, ignoring the lain around her neck as she fell asleep.


End file.
